


Making Up for Lost Time

by Sanara1



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: After the Movie, Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Planet, But before season 6, F/F, Fluff, Gem Fusion, Multi, Romance, Slow Build, Surprises, Vacation, change of heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-24 09:09:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20905172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanara1/pseuds/Sanara1
Summary: It had been a fair amount of time since Peridot had attempted fusion, and even that hadn’t gone exactly as planned. It… was odd, to say the least, and she couldn’t quite figure out what she had done incorrectly. In fact, almost everything Peridot did was done with careful thought and control- until recently, that is, when Steven so kindly suggests the idea of a 'Vacation.'





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a fair amount of time since Peridot had attempted fusion, and even that hadn’t gone exactly as planned. It… was odd, to say the least, and she couldn’t quite figure out what she had done incorrectly. In fact, almost everything Peridot did was done with careful thought and control- until recently, that is...

Here they were, having saved the Earth and brought all of Gem kind together in the matter of months, and finally polished off little homeworld just outside of beach city, and Peri wasn’t feeling any joy? Even as she lay there in her own living unit, on a paved track surrounded by other living units for other gems, she felt alone. The work was over, there was nothing more to accomplish, and she could visit homeworld whenever she wanted- so… why was she feeling so cut off from everygem?

Peridot rolled onto her back on her cushioned resting shelf and sighed dramatically, but to no one in particular. After all, her and Lapis no longer shared a barn, and Peri lived alone. Lapis even got Pumpkin, considering Peri couldn’t stand to see Lapis existing by herself. They had become such an integral part of eachother these past months sharing earth and officially becoming crystal gems. That had felt so real. But now- now the barn was a communal area for Gems of all worlds, and a teaching facility for those who had no clue what to expect here.

Period rolled onto her side and sat up on her cushioned resting shelf, kicking her legs for only a moment, as they didn’t quite reach the wooden floors. Why did she let Steven talk her into getting one of these living units? When the decision to turn the barn into a resource for all gems, she should have just moved in with Steven at the temple. It would have saved her so much early morning heartbreak.

But there was no going back to resting now. She had only began this pesky habit thanks to Lapis, and now she could hardly kick it. After all, it was nice to just lay down and turn off with the large star in the sky. She sighed yet again as she exited her resting chamber and gazed around at all of her recent meep morps that littered her living area. All useless, and all very blue like she was feeling, thanks to all the blue paint they had collected during their construction. She felt blue when she created meep morps on her own, and they reflected such. 

Carefully walking around all of her to-dos, she prepared a cup of hot bean juice Steven called ‘coffee' and sat down for a moment, flipping through the mock up of the instructional book she was writing, ‘Understanding Earth for Clods,’ which simply held information new Gems would need to know while on earth, and paused at the scribbled pages of the water cycle. She would have to regloss over that on her earth tablet, but as of right now the childish drawings with a sad cloud and happy cloud were all pretty professional. 

Peridot magnetized one of her pens to her, and began to scribble for a moment before stopping and sighing loudly- though no one stopped her to tell her to shut up. That was the problem with all this freedom. She didn’t have anyone to share it with. With a grunt of frustration, Peridot threw herself into a stand and shoved her loose-leaf book away from herself, causing all the pages to fly off the work surface and scatter to the floor. 

She groaned again dramatically and stormed out of her living unit, not even pausing to shut the door behind her- thankfully that was another habit of hers, and Greg had showed her how to install a spring to make it shut automatically behind her. She stormed to no place in particular, but found herself looking down at the warp pad in the center of town. 

Here in the early morning hours, it shimmered with a pale glow, just waiting for someone to step upon it and go- but she had no wish to warp to homeworld, or any world. So what was this feeling? It was like wanting to be at homeworld, but Peridot didn’t want to see homeworld. Or was it homeworld she felt the pull to? Peridot concentrated, and found herself imagining the barn- but as it was, it would be no better than going to homeworld. It just wasn’t the same anymore. 

Maybe Steven would understand what she was feeling! Finally able to take sure steps, Peridot stomped onto the warp pad and imagined herself going to the temple- and in a blaze of light, she was there. Or, at least her Gem was there. After all, the beam of light was only as solid as her own body, having been a manifestation of light itself. Peri groaned again, having just tried to explain things to herself, but stopped short when she found herself incased in wood and semi-darkness. 

She had made the trip just fine, and so found herself marching right up the stairs of Steven's newly expanded home and into his room. Her target was just as she had assumed he would be, in his very pink living chamber that had been given a golden hue with the help of the large star peering above the horizon outside of his window. He lay snoring ontop of his very pink cushioned resting shelf, so Peridot waited until she was sure he was awake- or for 5 minutes, but who was counting.

“Steven, I need your help,” she gushed as she flopped next to him on his cushioned resting shelf. With a shout, Steven woke and nearly hurdled himself out over the other side, but Peri barely noticed. “Steven, I need your help,” she said again, but this time more deliberate.

“Do you even know what time it is?” He growled, picking himself up from his startled disposition. 

“Approximately 6:15, if my calculations are correct.” She glanced out the window, measuring the rise of the sun vs the horizon, and doing a quick bit of math to figure in the season and height at which they currently sat. “But are you even listening to me? I need your help. It’s an emergency!”

At that, Steven quickly perked up, and readied himself to take whatever news Peridot had to tell him. He could have Lion at his side in a moments notice, and three impeccable Gems would be at his side. *His* side. Peri groaned again, and flopped back where she had been only moments ago. “I’m feeling hollow in my stomach, and my chest feels blue. I want to return to homeworld- but I don’t want to actually go to homeworld.” Already Steven was relaxing, and knitting his eyebrows together. A sign that she had learned was probably a bad thing. “But I also want to go to the barn, but I don’t want to actually go to the barn. Especially not how it is right now. There aren’t anymore meep morps in it, and Lapis isn’t there.”

“I think you’re just missing Lapis Lazuli,” Steven said, rubbing one of his eyes in. a tired fashion. “You guys haven’t spent much time apart, but here lately you haven’t exactly been together. Especially now that little homeworld is done and you’re working on separate projects in separate places.” Steven found himself snuggling back against his cushioned resting shelf. “Go see her at her art gallery. I’m sure the barn project can wait, and I know she would be happy to see you. Take a vacation from all this work you’ve been doing.”

Peridot sat there for a bit longer, thinking on what Steven had said. Missing Lapis? Were here feelings of loneliness from not being with her friend at this moment? Peridot frowned, ready to ask another question when she saw that Steven had fallen back asleep, and turned away from her for good measure. He could have just ask her to leave, she thought, but shrugged. Steven was a kind person, he really shouldn’t put himself out as much as he does. Quietly, Peri slid off of Steven’s bed and made her way down to the warp pad, oblivious to the fact that it was actually her who had been the one keeping Steven awake. 

By the time she had warped back to little homeworld and traveled to the art gallery, the large star was peeking over the hill the temple was built into, and was already promising to give them a warmer day. Peridot paused just outside of Lapis' meep morp unit with her hand steady on the ‘push' label, where it was most appropriate to push from. Why was she so nervous? In her chest, the blue feeling had been replaced by something more orangy-yellow, and anxiety had crept into her being. 

She desperately wanted to see Lapis and hold Pumpkin, but what if they weren’t as interested in her idea as she was? But there was only one way to find out. Peridot took a heavy deep breath and pushed at the door's ‘push' label. Immediately, Peridot could hear Pumpkin upstairs, running back and forth and barking. She blushed a little bit, hoping the sound wouldn’t be too annoying to Lapis who had, as Peridot was positive of, stayed up well into the night trying to settle the meep morp exhibit schedules for the opening. Peridot actually had a timeslot on this schedule, and was very ready to present her meep morps- only, her more recent ones were all blue. Maybe Lapis would like them, since she was in fact blue. 

As if on cue, the lithe shape of other appeared behind one of the sectional walls, immediately followed by a barking Pumpkin, who changed tones upon seeing Peridot. The small quadruped leapt into her arms, and Peri was more than relieved to find that the creature had missed her! Her eyes darted upwards for a glimpse at Lapis, hoping she would also show signs of having missed her. In fact, she didn’t look angry at all!

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” Peridot said softly, coming closer to the taller Gem, but was soon enveloped in a hug that needed no words. “I missed you, Lapis,” she said a little too loudly, but threw her arms around the blue gem anyway. 

“I’ve missed you too, Peri!” She smiled down to the smaller gem for a time, and then directed her to the stairs leading up to the meep morp unit’s loft apartment that Lapis lived in. Peridot hadn’t seen it since it was finished, and certainly not with all of Lapis' things in place. She set Pumpkin down and excitedly made her way up the stairs and was immediately met with a very square room that was sectioned off in 3 places- one was a little kitchenette that held a sealed coolant diffuser, a microwave, and a counter and some storage space. The other side was obviously Lapis' work station, with papers strewn about and a pottery wheel with a finished vase drying ontop. Finally, at the very back, was Lapis' cushioned resting shelf, with tons of comfort items and the alien Peridot had given her after her trip to funland. Facing the resting shelf was a visual light transmitter ontop of another storage unit that held the many seasons of Camp Pining Hearts, as well as a new series Peridot had not yet looked into. 

It looked perfect, and for some reason, that made her feel blue once more. “You look very settled in,” Peridot said softly, shuffling her gravity connectors on the laminate. 

“Oh yeah,” Lapis said, brushing past her. “I have almost everything I need here, and its almost all in place. I’m very excited to get our first shows underway.” She excitedly shuffled through some of the papers on the ground, not quite catching on to Peridot's feelings on the subject. “Don’t think I have forgotten about your slot, either. I’m thinking it will be the first, to show off what meep morp is really all about. No pressure, though. I’m sure your new works are going to wow the crowd.” 

Lapis rushed over and presented Peridot with what looked to be a mock up poster, and she found herself smiling in spite of her feelings. “I look goooood,” Peridot said, drawing out the word, and striking a pose similar to the poster Lapis had created. 

“I’m glad you think so,” Lapis said with a giggle. “Thats what you came over here about, right?”

“No, actually,” Paridot said, handing back the flier. “I have an idea, and I want you to say yes. Steven mentioned this human concept- a ‘vacation,’ and I was thinking maybe we could perform one together? We don’t really get to see each other as much anymore, and I thought maybe it would be fun. We could go stay in someone’s barn, or something?” 

Lapis’ smile dropped a fraction when Peridot mentioned the barn, but she set her hand on the other’s small shoulder. “I don’t know much about ‘vacations,’ but if you want to do it, then lets do it! Plan it out, then come back to me. But.. lets not stay in a barn. I have a working toilet here, and trying new foods are fun.”

Peridot couldn’t help but find herself laughing at the absurd new idea for gems who actually try eating for the first time. They all have problems adjusting to toilet-use. But she was given the green light! So in a flurry, Peridot thanked Lapis and shouldered her way out of the Meep morp loft, heading to her own living unit to plan the excursion.


	2. Chapter 2

The moment Peridot burst through her own door, she magnetized her tablet in hand and quickly began reading over all the to-dos of a typical vacation for this time of year. It was warmer, so some beachy city on the coast was ideal! No- wait. 

They *lived* on a beachy city on the coast. 

Peridot groaned for a moment as she strolled about, carefully avoiding the fallen stack of papers she had mussed up hours ago but was still unwilling to gather. Even her hot-bean juice that sat on the counter was stone cold at this point. She would have to create another of course, and with a bit of a pause on her plans, she created a fresh pot to plot to. 

If not hot, then where? Peri conducted a quick search for Vacation ideas and frowned ever so slightly- there were beasts one could ride in a place called ‘Colorado’, or water vessels one could rent- although Peridot did remember the last vessel Lapis had been on and promptly refused. They could always go content hopping and see what humans in ‘India' do? But there was an important Gem location there- an upside down unfinished spire of a place. They had already seen all the Gem locations on the Earth map- so what was there? And that’s when the idea hit her- what if not *on* earth, but off of it instead?

And that began the plans- a planet she had only heard of and surly neither of them had been to, once ruled by Blue Diamond herself! Within a matter of mere hours, Peridot had packed bags and her hover pad that she had claimed from a human trashcan, and set out fir Lapis' meep morp unit. This time, she didn’t hesitate as she barged in with confidence, bringing the hoverpad behind her carrying the sacks with clothes, snacks and other goodies for their trip. 

“Are you ready?” Peridot called as she mounted the steps, two at a time. “It’s a surprise where we’re going, and I have a bag packed, but you should grab anything you absolutely *have* to have.” When she got to the very top, Lapis was already standing with Pumpkin in hand. “Of course we’re bringing Pumpkin. Anything else?” 

“I think this is all I need? I’d know more if you told me more?” Lapis smiled nervously as Peridot took hold of the excited gourd and set him atop her hover pad. 

“I don’t think I will. I want you to he surprised! Lets go to the warp pad!” When Peridot took Lapis' hand, she felt how tense the other had become in such short moment. “What’s wrong?” Peri ask suddenly, turning back to the other.

“It’s just that… well, I didn’t know we were going off world. I don’t want to go back to homeworld, and I don’t want to be gone from earth too long. We have our shows planned and there’s so much still left to do on the barn…”

“Nonsense,” Peridot said, using her metal abilities to bring her tablet closer. She tapped the screen in a few quick places before presenting it to Lapis. “I set an alarm for the end of the weekend, and even though we wont have Wifi, it will still go off because its part of its programming! It’s all been accounted for!” Peridot cheesed at Lapis with excitement before adding “and we’re not going to homeworld. Those clods wouldn’t know fun if Steven were around.”

It was as though a thorn had been taken out of Lapis's gravity connector. The tension released all at once, and a soft smile lit up her face. “Alright then. Lets go have ourselves a vacation.” 

Back on track! Peridot took Lapis' hand in hers and held it all the way to the warp pad, bringing the hover pad along behind her with their things. “Now don’t think of anything at all-“ Peridot said, standing needlessly close to Lapis on the large warp. “Let me do all the guiding!” and then they were off with the flash of light and familiar hum, into the galaxy to a destination only Peri knew. Even Pumpkin was nervously nested between the bags. 

The time wasted while traveling was irrelevant for the pair-Lapis kept her sunny disposition and Peri was nearly vibrating from excitement. As soon as their gravity connectors found another warp pad, she shouted an excited “Sur!”

Which ended in a very disappointed “-prise?” 

For what met them was not at all what Peridot remembered. She was much more familiar with what was suppose to be an incredibly mountainous temperate jungle of a place with a clear carved Gem base and water features and NO organic humanoids traipsing around. After all, it had only been a few millenniums. How could it have changed so quickly in such a short time, for the rock they landed on was considerably *frozen.*   
The large star in the sky was shining, turning everything a dazzling shade of white, broken up by darker paths cut through the snow and ice, leading off in several directions to huts built into the side of a valley wall and even into a bustling town square. No one had noticed them at first, but it wasn’t long before a gem approached from the valley-wall side. It was a Sapphire! 

Not like their Sapphire from earth that formed the perma fusion Garnet, of course, but someone who had enough authority around here to be able to tell them what was going on. Wordlessly, she directed them inside away from the ice and snow to a very warm and cozy cave. Immediately, Peridot could sense the residual energy of a Kindergarten. Once the Sapphire had gotten them sat around a hole in the wall with a fire created within, she felt safe to speak. 

“What happened here?” Was her immediate first question, which surprised Lapis, who had assumed that Peri knew what they were doing from the get go- was this not all a surprise?

The Sapphire, who had her hair pulled up into a bun which showed her eye rather pronounced, sat across from them by the fire. She wore actual clothes instead of just projections, and they looked incredibly warm- something Peridot was quickly regretting about this trip. “I assume you mean about the Kindergarten?” Of course the Sapphire would know Peridot was a Kinder-caretaker. That’s what she had been created for after all, and so Perdiot found herself nodding in reaponse. 

“The call to settle our work went out long after our time on this planet had ended,” Sapphire said kindly, looking up and smiling at the gems who passed by them and then down further into tunnels dug out of the valley side and deeper into the earth. Peridot did not envy those going out into the frosty daylight of outside. “We were only meant to be a simple outpost for Blue Diamond's ships passing through onto her other colonies. A place to stock up. Most of the workers of this outpost were created here, robbing the land of its resources per usual, but also permanently altering its environment and ecosystems. We didn’t know there was intelligent life budding in the trees, as I believe that is what your bags are packed for?”

Peridot and Lapis both nodded, and Pumpkin whimpered softly in response. “We are on a trip for fun, but this isn’t what I thought it was going to be. We should just go home, Lapis,” Peridot stood back on her feet a little disgruntled, but Lapis caught her hand, and when Peri turned, it held a smile turned up to her. 

“Lets try it,” She protested. “Its still an outpost, sort of, so it will have space for us. And we have several days before we have to be anywhere.”

“But all I packed for was temperate climates. I have shorts and tshirts and sunglasses and fun things like that to take pictures in. We need fur coats in this weather! And id suggest ear muffs if we had anything that could get frostbitten.”

“We have things for that,” Sapphire said softly. “Almost everyone comes here unprepared. If you give us some of your Cotton fabrics, we will trade you our woolen ones? We don’t have the opportunity to gather those types of resources here. Gems don’t usually bring them, and we don’t grow those kinds of crops. Well, we cant even if we wanted to. But we will have a decent trade for your items and you can go about your way?”

Peridot glanced down at Lapis where she sat smiling encouraging up to her and she finally gave in. “Alright, fine,” Peridot said in mock exasperation. Carefully, she removed Pumpkin from his spot on top of the bags and the small beast jumped up into Lapis's lap. Carefully, Peridot sorted through their thing, hiding ‘the good stuff' from Lapis and bringing out two pairs of painfully bright fabric, one a loud orange Hawaiian style shirt with green pineapples, and the other a bright pink button up with white lotus flowers on it, and both accompanying kaki shorts. 

When Lapis saw them, the other gem peered up at Peri with one eyebrow quirked, and Peridot chuckled nervously. “My Earth tablet said they were customary on vacation, but it is much too cold for them here.” 

Sapphire, on the other hand, was rather excited for the bright and beautiful colors that contrasted painfully with her tanned, fur lined jacket. “These are perfect,” She said, taking both pairs of clothes in her hands. “I would be happy to trade these for two jackets, some shells and a room in our cave system? We usually reserve them for the Diamond's tradesmen, but with Era 3 and all, they don’t come around nearly as often, so please, make yourselves at home. I’ll get your jackets together.”

The Sapphire left the two of them together, and Peridot sat back down next to Lapis who still held Pumpkin in her lap. “I’m sorry this trip isn’t quite what I had planned,” She folded her hands in her lap and frowned slightly. “Everything I planned for was for warm weather.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lapis said, leaning in Peridot's direction. “I’m happy to be here, really. You were right- we hadn’t seen much of each other, and I have a feeling this will be a good trip.”

Her smile was contagious, and Peridot soon found her own smile, even as the Sapphire returned with a stack of items. When she handed the jackets over, Peridot caught the small bag on the top and looked inside, surprised to find actual seashells inside. “It’s the currency of the natives. Many mollusks and aquatic life died when the climate changed. All that is left are their husks, and they are rare enough to be a commodity here. So keep these on you if you happen to want something while you’re out.” Peridot set the bag on her hover pad and inspected the two jackets. One was a dark grey outside with spotted fur on the inside, much too small for Lapis, so it had to be for Peridot. The other was several shades lighter with slate grey inside that faded at the bottom. Interesting, Peridot thought, but they both thanked the Sapphire in turn. 

When she left them, Lapis was the first to stand up and pull on her jacket, and seemed to warm completely within moments. “This is lovely- lets go find our room.”

Peridot jumped up to follow her down the long hallway and tugged on her own jacket. In fact, she was no longer surprised at Lapis' reaction to the warmth. They were of excellent cut and the fur was incredibly soft. They even had metal buttons on the front that she clipped together. 

Her mood was already lifting when Lapis suddenly stopped and pointed at a random room “This one. Lets stay in this room.” Peridot was more than happy to oblige, when she pushed at the door and stepped right on in with Lapis at her heels. 

And that’s when the good mood left her, for her and Lapis both laid eyes on a rather large rust-red gem with pale hair. The gem turned towards them with a face full of surprise that mirrored their own, and an orange gem set right on her nose. 

“How are you even here?” Lapis said with pure disgust in her voice.

“What are you doing here, Jasper?” Peridot ask with shock that coated her expression.


End file.
